


Always in Bloom

by foxxlight



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Florist Kim Jongin | Kai, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Slow Burn, Soft Kim Jongin | Kai, Soft Park Chanyeol, Tattoo Artist Park Chanyeol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25370329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxxlight/pseuds/foxxlight
Summary: Kim Jongin's life plan of getting married by 30, moving out of the city, and starting a family had been going pretty well until his sudden breakup. Luckily, Park Chanyeol was searching for a roommate.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 6
Kudos: 93
Collections: Kaifectionery Round 4





	Always in Bloom

When the familiar green door of the flower shop came into view, relief washed over Jongin. The door was propped open, his coworker Yixing adjusting the plants they had on display in front of the shop window. He’d gone out to get the two of them lunch and figured he’d check in with his mom while he wasn’t busy. He should’ve known better, given how concerned she’d been about him lately.

“Mom,” he cut her off as politely as he could, knowing if he waited for her to finish he’d be standing around for a few more minutes, at least. “I gotta go, I’m back at the shop. I’ll talk to you later, okay? And you don’t have to come here, I’ll make time to come home when I can. You know how busy it is running the shop, though, so I can’t make any promises about when I’ll be able to visit. I love you, and tell dad I said hi.”

He was standing in front of the shop at that point, bag of takeout held in one hand, phone pressed to his ear with the other as Yixing gave him an amused look. Once his mom had said her goodbyes, not without warning him they’d discuss it again later, of course, he sighed and slid his phone back into his pocket.

“Does your mom try to visit you every other week or is that just mine?” He joked, tone light, smile fond. He loved his mom a lot, and she meant well, but she’d been a bit more overbearing than he felt comfortable with over the past year. 

Yixing laughed as he finished adjusting the flower pot he’d been moving. “My mom’s back in China and she has absolutely no desire to get on a plane that often.”

“Can’t blame her there. My hometown’s only about a two hour drive away and even that’s hard for me to swing.” Jongin took the step leading into the shop, Yixing behind him as they moved to sit on the stools behind the counter.

Helping Jongin unpack their lunch, Yixing responded; “When you’re busy running a business I’m sure it’s hard to make time.”

“I don’t mind it so much. This is what I love doing, after all. But it’s definitely been a really big help having you around. The owner used to stop by a lot more to help out but she’s been staying with her daughter for almost a year and a half now and the commute is pretty far. I told her just to enjoy spending time with her family and leave it to me, but managing everything myself got hard pretty quickly.” Jongin took a bite of his sandwich.

“I was surprised when you said I probably wouldn’t meet her. I figured since this is a small business the owner would be pretty involved.”

“You said you don’t like pickles, right?” Jongin asked, fingers hovering over the second pickle slice the sandwich place had given them. At Yixing’s confirming nod, he added it to his sandwich alongside the first. “She actually isn’t a florist, this was her husband’s shop. She helped him out with the business side of things but beyond that she didn’t know how to run the place after he died. That’s how I ended up getting hired; someone who knew about flowers and could take over her husband’s side of things.”

“That must’ve been hard on her,” Yixing said after taking a sip of his tea. 

Jongin nodded, finishing the bite he’d just taken before responding. “I think it made her sad to be here without him. Once I’d gotten settled and she’d gotten to know me — come to trust me, I guess is more accurate — she turned things over to me, more or less. She still came around to do some work, and sometimes just for company, but she didn’t spend nearly as much time here as I did.”

“So when she went to stay with her daughter you started managing the finances too?”

Jongin nodded, reaching for his drink. “It wasn’t like she dumped everything on me and split or anything. She was having trouble getting around on her own and her daughter offered her to come stay with her and her family, see if that worked. Over the years she’d become like a grandmother to me and I just wanted what was best for her. When she first left she continued helping but it had already been getting harder for her to manage things, being physically away didn’t help that.”

“Has her health been okay since she went to stay with her daughter?” Yixing sounded concerned, something which warmed Jongin’s heart. He’d been able to tell Yixing was kind when they’d first met but seeing his genuine concern over a person he’s never even met made him smile. 

“She sounds like she’s doing a lot better. I think being with her family instead of alone in her house is helping her a lot. Plus she’s got people there to help her if she needs so I think it’s a better set up for her. When I talked to her last week she sounded really happy, telling me stories about her grandson.” Jongin laughed, remembering how spirited she’d sounded as she relayed the tale of him defeating pirates who’d taken over his jungle gym. 

Before Yixing could respond, the door was pulled open, the little bell attached to it announcing a customer’s presence. Through the door stepped a tall, lanky framed guy who looked to be around their age. He was dressed head to toe in black, from his hair which hung slightly into his eyes and his shirt which looked to have had sleeves at one point but was now a tank top, to his ripped black skinny jeans and combat boots. Even his left arm, which was completely covered in floral tattoos, was inked solely in black. 

Yixing was standing to greet him before Jongin had the chance to swallow his food. “Welcome to The Little Garden. Can I help you with anything today or are you just browsing?”

The guy glanced over at Jongin, who was still eating his lunch while he watched the exchange, before answering. “I’m looking for some Butterfly Weed.”

“Ah, I don’t think we have any of that in the store right now. But if you don’t need it immediately we can —”

“It’s in the back,” Jongin interrupted, hand covering his mouth as he hadn’t finished chewing yet. “Sorry, forgot you’d asked for it. Was wondering why you suddenly showed up.”

“You two know each other?” Yixing asked, looking over at Jongin.

“That’s my roommate, Chanyeol,” Jongin explained, pointing his thumb at Chanyeol who smiled in greeting. “This is Yixing, I’ve told you about him.” The same gesture was repeated, this time in his coworker’s direction.

Chanyeol nodded, stepping closer to the counter so he could extend his hand. “I remember. Jongin was basically over the moon about you after your interview.”

His words had Yixing grinning, turning to wiggle his eyebrows at Jongin. “You were that happy to have me working here?”

“Hey, you’re practically the human equivalent of gold, Yixing. You had plenty of experience already, I didn’t have to teach you anything.” Jongin laughed, joined by both Yixing and Chanyeol.

“Well, I’m honored. Hopefully I can live up to your expectations,” Yixing teased.

“I’d say you’ve been doing pretty well. Jongin’s thrilled he doesn’t have to wake up every day to open the shop.” Chanyeol reached over to steal a few chips from Jongin’s bag, grinning when he protested.

“It’s a small bag, don’t steal my lunch,” he complained, snatching the bag away when Chanyeol went to reach for it again.

“You ate my last pudding cup so we’re even,” he shrugged.

“I told you it wasn’t me, it was Sehun!” 

Chanyeol hummed, obviously not convinced. “If you go get my order I promise not to eat your lunch. Deal?”

Jongin rolled his eyes and put his chips back down, getting ready to stand. Yixing was quick to wave him away though, saying he’d go get them and be back in a minute. Jongin shrugged, staying in his seat while the other disappeared into the back room. 

“Excited to finally get started on the sketch?” He asked Chanyeol as they waited.

“We’ll see how it goes. I’ve never done Butterfly Weed before. Scratch that, I’ve never done butterflies before. It’s up my alley but I want it to be great for the customer so I’m planning to take it slow and get a few scenes sketched out for her to choose from. Her request was pretty vague so I hope what I come up with will satisfy her.”

Jongin nodded, crunching on a few chips. “You’re always careful about your sketches, ‘Yeol. I’m sure she’ll love whatever you come up with. At most she’ll just want minor tweaks done. Besides, you’re getting a live plant to use as a model specifically _because_ you’ve never done this flower before so I think it’ll turn out.” Then he offered the bag of chips to Chanyeol, his way of reassuring him.

If Chanyeol’s soft smile was any indication, it seemed he’d succeeded in his goal. He didn’t say anything in response, but he did take some chips from the bag and Jongin understood what the silence meant.

Yixing appeared, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over them as he returned with the Butterfly Weed. He set it on the counter in front of Chanyeol, saying ‘tah-dah’ as he did so. Jongin and Chanyeols laughter seemed to please him, his grin telling.

“So do you need care instructions? This one was potted, and while you can try transferring it to soil, survival after having its roots disrupted isn’t guaranteed. Usually you’d want to plant it directly in your garden…” Yixing trailed off, seemingly hesitant as he didn’t know the situation surrounding Chanyeol’s request for the flower. He knew Jongin lived in an apartment, and since Chanyeol was his roommate, he wasn’t sure where the plant would end up.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.” Jongin waved him off. “Chanyeol’s a tattoo artist who specializes in flowers. He needed a live model to create a tattoo for a customer so he asked me to get him one. I’ll keep it alive at home until he’s done with it, and then depending I might bring it back here to be sold or just keep it at home.” 

“Guess this isn’t a typical potted plant.” Chanyeol laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t know much about actually caring for flowers. I just admire them and help other people permanently put them on their bodies.”

“That’s pretty cool though,” Yixing nodded at Chanyeol’s arm. “Is that your work?”

Chanyeol grinned, moving his arm so Yixing could get a better look. “It’s my design but my coworker tattooed it on my arm for me.”

“Even though there’s no color it looks so… alive,” Yixing observed, eyes still moving across his arm to take in the flowers inked there. 

“Wow, ‘Yeol. You might be tempting Yixing into getting a tattoo,” Jongin said with a laugh.

Chanyeol shrugged, an easy grin on his face. “Now he knows we’re roommates so he can get in contact with me if he decides he’s interested.”

“Having a flower that nevers dies would be poetic,” Yixing said as he stepped away from Chanyeol and toward the cash register. “But I’d have to give that some serious thought.” Then to Jongin he said, “I’m assuming we’re giving him the friends and family discount?”

Jongin nodded as he began cleaning up the remnants of his lunch. “Any time he comes in you can give it to him.”

“Sometimes I stop by to browse for inspiration,” Chanyeol explained.

“It’s pretty lucky that you’re a tattoo artist whose speciality is flowers and your roommate is a florist,” Yixing comments as he goes through the process of ringing the order up.

“We only met about a year ago when Jongin answered my ad for a roommate.” Chanyeol’s grin was wider than ever as he leaned closer to Yixing, fake whispering so Jongin can still hear him. “Jongin doesn’t like to admit it but we’re obviously soulmates.”

Jongin rolled his eyes, tossing his wadded up napkin at Chanyeol’s head while he and Yixing laughed. “Take you plant and leave already.”

Chanyeol laughed, accepting his card back from Yixing before gathering the Butterfly Weed pot in his arms. “It was nice meeting you, Yixing.” Then as he pushed the door open he said to Jongin, “See you at home.”

“He seems fun,” Yixing said once Chanyeol had left the shop.

“Annoying, more like,” Jongin replied with a huff.

“Seemed to me like you guys get along really well.” Yixing’s tone implied he wasn’t just making a simple observation but Jongin chose to ignore it.

“Annoying as he may be, he’s a good guy. Getting a roommate who turns into a close friend isn’t something that happens very often.”

Yixing stood there, eyes searching Jongin’s face for a few silent seconds. Then he smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and sat down to finish what remained of his lunch. Jongin got the feeling Yixing had come to some sort of conclusion in those short seconds, but he didn’t think he’d get an answer. That was fine though. He didn’t think he wanted to ask.

🌹

Jongin was leaning over the island, half bent over to rest his arms on the counter as he drank his coffee and scroll through social media on his phone when Chanyeol came out of his room and paused in the entryway to the kitchen to groan.

“Why’re you teasing me like this? Your back is so nice, if you’re not gonna let me tattoo it then the least you could do is wear a shirt,” he complained.

Jongin snorted, bringing his coffee cup to his lips without responding. Chanyeol huffed and whined dramatically some more before moving past him to get a cup of coffee for himself.

“What’re you doing home, anyway? You’re not opening the shop today?” He asked as he spooned what was probably an unhealthy amount of sugar into his coffee.

“Today’s the Greene’s wedding so Yixing’s taking care of the shop on his own today.” Jongin glanced at the time. “I have to get ready soon. I’m praying Sehun gets his ass up on time so I’m not stuck scrambling to do everything myself.”

Chanyeol finished making his coffee and turned to face Jongin, leaning back against the counter across from him. “After today you can finally say goodbye to that bridezilla though. Gotta stay positive.”

“She really was a bridezilla, wasn’t she,” Jongin laughed. He’d come home complaining to Chanyeol about her too many times to count. Now that he was about to help her pull off the wedding of her dreams, he was glad to be part of it, even if she’d been rude and demanding of him throughout most of the process. “I’ve taken part in a bunch of wedding planning, so I know how stressful it can be for the couple. Wish she wouldn’t have taken it out on me but, y’know.”

“Always so nice,” Chanyeol said, shaking his head. “The customer is always right is bullshit.”

“Agreed.” Jongin brought his empty cup to the sink and stood beside Chanyeol while he washed it. “But I can get a little snappy when I’m stressed too, so I might not be the nicest person when I plan my wedding either.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “Yeah right, Jongin. There’s no damn way you’re ever gonna be rude to someone who’s helping you just because you’re stressed. One of us, sure, we’re your friends and we know you well enough to know what’s up. But a practical stranger? No damn way.”

“Such faith in me, I’m touched.” He shot Chanyeol a playful grin and nudged him out of the way so he could put his newly washed cup in the dish drainer. “How’re the sketches going, by the way? You’ve been holed up in your room with the Butterfly Weed every spare minute you have. If I didn’t know better I’d be concerned you were doing something freaky.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“I don’t know whether I should be offended that you don’t think I’m ‘freaky’,” he mimicked Jongin’s ridiculous eyebrow movement, making him burst into laughter. “Or honored that you think I’m a respectable guy.”

“Is that really what my face looked like?” Jongin managed to get out through his laughter. 

“I don’t know what I looked like but I did what you did, so.” He moved his coffee cup in front of his mouth, taking a sip to hide his smile as Jongin continued to laugh.

Once his laughter had fizzled out, he reiterated his earlier question. “Seriously, though. Have you managed to do anything that you’re satisfied with yet?”

“It’s only been a couple days,” he replied.

“That means no, then.” 

Chanyeol’s lips turned up slightly at the corners, face betraying the truth in Jongin’s blunt restatement of what he hadn’t said. 

“I’m working on it,” he said once he realized Jongin wasn’t going to back down and let it go. “I feel pretty comfortable with drawing the Butterfly Weed but what she wants isn’t a single potted plant, she wants a nature scene and since I don’t actually have a model of that to work with, I have to use my imagination and stretch what realities I’ve learned from studying the potted version.”

“So it’s harder because not only is it a flower you’ve never worked with before but also because she wants a nature scene?” Jongin clarified, chewing on his lip as he tried to think of something that could help.

“That’s the gist of it, yeah.” Chanyeol sighed, suddenly feeling stressed out. “She’s expecting to come back to the shop to see what I’ve come up with next Friday.”

“I might —” Jongin’s phone started ringing, interrupting his sentence. “Gimme a sec,” he said before moving to grab his phone off the island. “It’s just Sehun. Guess I should be glad he’s up already though. I’m gonna go take this and then get ready but I’ll see if I can figure something to help you out. Don’t lose confidence, okay?” 

He didn’t give Chanyeol a chance to respond as he rushed out of the kitchen, phone brought up to his ear.

🌹

As Sehun crossed the parking lot he used his forearm to wipe sweat from his face, grumbling about how hot it felt even though it was already autumn. He was glad the seasons were shifting, though; helping Jongin with the setup and tear down for his floral designer gigs in the summer was pure torture. Jongin was lucky they’ve been best friends for years.

“No word from that other guy?” He asked as he came to stand next to Jongin by the delivery truck. 

Jongin swallowed and shook his head, eyes still trained on his phone as if that would make it light up with a message or call. Jongin always hired a third person to assist them with unloading and setting up the floral arrangements for weddings because of how much work it was, even with both him and Sehun there. But that day, no matter how many times he called or texted, he hadn’t gotten a response from the person he’d hired. He was starting to panic, knowing how much work they still had to do and how little time was left. If the guy he hired didn’t show up, Jongin knew they wouldn’t finish in time.

“You want me to call Jun? He told me he was doing research today, not teaching. He might be able to come help,” Sehun offered, pulling out his phone.

Jongin quickly shook his head. “No, please don’t bother him. Even if he’s not teaching he’s still working and I don’t want to interrupt that.”

Sehun shrugged and put his phone back into his pocket. “Alright, if you’re sure. But you and I can’t finish this before the wedding’s set to start, y’know.”

Jongin nodded distractedly, trying to keep himself from spiraling into a full blown panic. He needed to stay focused on the situation at hand, he was the boss. He could solve his problem as long as he kept his cool.

“Okay,” he nodded again, more to himself than to Sehun. “You keep working and I’ll find someone else to come help. Once that’s handled I’ll be inside but, in the meantime, if someone is looking for me tell them you’ll come get me for them, please. I’d rather not have my clients see the sheer panic on my face.”

Sehun laughed, reaching out to pat his shoulder lightly. “Your face isn’t nearly as expressive as you seem to think. But sounds good, boss.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Jongin shot back with an eye roll, biting back a smile when it made Sehun laugh more.

“Do you know who you’re gonna call?” He asked as he pulled a box from the truck.

“No,” Jongin responded, biting his lip as he fiddled with his phone. 

Sehun gave him a look. “Say hi to Chanyeol for me.” Then he started heading back across the parking lot with the box in his hands.

“I wasn’t going to call him!” Jongin shouted after him, annoyed at how Sehun thought he knew everything. But also probably mostly annoyed that this time he’d been right. “I was thinking maybe Yixing would know someone!”

“Whatever you say,” he tossed back over his shoulder, continuing on his way.

Jongin huffed and slouched against the side of the truck, debating whether he should really do the first thing that had popped into his head. He knew Chanyeol was working, and why would he feel okay with bothering Chanyeol at work but not Junmyeon, who’s not only Sehun’s husband but also a close friend he’s known far longer than his roommate?

“I don’t have time to deal with my emotions right now,” he groaned, leaning his head back against the side of the truck. “Whatever. I’ll just call him and see what happens.”

With that determination, he tapped on Chanyeol’s contact and then hit the call button, bringing his phone to his ear as he waited somewhat anxiously. He wasn’t sure what he was nervous about. Either Chanyeol answered and said he could help, or he answered and told Jongin he couldn’t leave work. Or he didn’t answer at all. Nothing to be nervous about. So his heart had started pounding because…

“No time for emotions,” he muttered to himself, reiterating his earlier words as if that’d help calm him down. 

Jongin waited, listening to the phone ring three, four, five times before Chanyeol’s voice filtered through his speaker, directing him to leave a message. That had been the most likely outcome given the fact that he was working but he couldn’t help feeling disappointed. He could call Yixing like he’d mentioned to Sehun earlier, but his coworker had only moved there a few months ago and Jongin doubted he’d know anyone who would be free late morning on a Thursday afternoon. 

“Fuck it,” he said, unlocking his phone and clicking the call button before he could second guess himself.

It didn’t take more than a few rings for someone to pick up the phone. “Thanks for calling Inkwell. This is Minseok speaking, how can I help you?”

“Hey, it’s Jongin Kim. I’m sorry for calling the shop but I’m hoping to talk to Chanyeol.”

“Everything okay?” Minseok asked, concerned. Jongin felt bad, knowing how kind Minseok had been towards him since they’d first met through Chanyeol. He probably thought something bad had happened because he’d called the shop.

“I have a bit of a situation that I need to talk to Chanyeol about but I’m okay aside from that. He wasn’t answering his phone and I’m in a hurry so I called the shop. I hope I’m not disrupting your business…” He trailed off, regretting his impulsive decision. He should've called Yixing, at least given Chanyeol time to check his phone and see he’d called.

“Don’t worry about it,” Minseok responded, sounding genuine. “We’ve been having a slow morning, not much on the books today. Chanyeol’s dealing with a walk-in right now but let me go see if they’re almost done.”

“I really don’t want to cause any trouble.” Jongin bit his lip, trying to keep down the guilt. Even if the shop wasn’t busy, the fact that Chanyeol hadn’t answered his phone meant that he was.

“If you feel that bad about it you can come in one day and get a tattoo to make up for it. Or a piercing, whichever.” Minseok was obviously teasing him, knowing full well that Jongin wasn’t interested in either of those things. “Give me a second.” 

In the background Jongin could hear the sound of light knocking, and then there was faint music playing, meaning Minseok had entered the room Chanyeol was tattooing his client in. Minseok must have pressed the phone against his shoulder or something because the voices were too muffled for him to make out what was being said.

“He said he’s finishing up so he’ll give you a call back in a few minutes,” Minseok explained a few seconds later. “If there’s anything I can help with you’ll let me know, right?”

Jongin smiled, warmed by Minseok’s concern. “Don’t worry, Minseok. I’d let you know if I was really in trouble.”

“Good,” he replied, seemingly satisfied with Jongin’s answer. “I’ll be seeing you at our monthly dinner, then.”

“Looking forward to it.” Talking with Minseok made his chest feel lighter. He still felt some guilt over disrupting their work, even if they hadn’t really been busy, but it felt nice to talk to Minseok. Even though he hadn’t known Jongin for very long, he treated him like a younger brother and he was grateful for it. 

They said their goodbye and hung up, leaving Jongin slumped against the side of the truck feeling exhausted. The day wasn’t even close to being over and he already couldn’t wait to crawl into bed. Whatever plans he and Sehun had of getting drinks once they finished cleaning up everything probably weren’t going to work out.

While Jongin was waiting for Chanyeol to finish with his client and call him back, Sehun returned, causing another spike of panic to run through him.

“Please tell me there’s not a problem and someone sent you to get me,” he practically pleaded. With the way the day had been going, it wouldn’t have surprised him if everything else started going wrong too.

“Chill out, everything’s fine. I just came to get more stuff from the truck. Did you find someone to come help us yet?”

Jongin sighed heavily, shaking his head. “Not definitively, but maybe. I should be getting a call in a minute or two.”

“Oh, so you didn’t talk to Chanyeol yet? Well, don’t forget to tell him I said hi.” Sehun dodged out of the way, taking another box with him as he avoided Jongin’s hand which had shot out to smack him. He was snickering as he left.

Jongin was rubbing the bridge of his nose when his phone rang, Chanyeol’s contact photo popping up on the screen. Before he even had a chance to say anything his roommate’s voice was rushing through his phone’s speakers.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t talk to you right away, I had to finish bandaging my client’s tattoo and telling her how to care for it. Is everything okay? You called the shop.”

Jongin wondered how it was possible to simultaneously feel warmed by how concerned Chanyeol was and guilty for making him worry. “Yeah, guess I shouldn’t have called the shop without even giving you time to see that I’d called you. Sorry, I was panicked and didn’t think things through. I’m okay, though. I’m not dying or anything.”

“That’s good to hear but there is something wrong, right?” He didn’t sound like his concern had lessened any.

Jongin sighed, moving to sit on the tailgate of the truck. “Remember how I was worried this morning that Sehun would oversleep and I wouldn’t be able to finish setting up in time? Well Sehun got up but the temp worker I hired to help us hasn’t shown up and isn’t answering my calls. Sehun and I can’t finish this in time by ourselves and I don’t know what to do. Finding someone last minute is fucking impossible. I know you’re at work, I’m sorry for bothering you. I just…” He trailed off, unsure how to say what he wanted to say.

“You want me to come help.” It wasn’t phrased as a question.

Jongin responded anway. “If you can’t, I understand. I’ll try to find someone else —”

“Text me the address, I’ll clean up my station real quick and head out. Do you need me to grab anything on my way over?”

“I — no, just bring yourself, please.” Jongin put the phone on speaker for a second while he typed out the address to Chanyeol. “Call me when you get here? I have the security pass you need to get into the venue.”

“Cool. According to Maps it’ll take me thirty to get there, plus traffic probably. Are you still gonna be okay on time? I can ask Baekhyun to come too if you need more people to make up for time lost.”

Jongin bit his lip, contemplating how much was left and how much time they had. “I think we’ll be okay, just the three of us, if we get to work. Plus I’d have to try getting another security pass and who knows how long that’d take.”

“Gotcha.” In the background Jongin heard clattering noises. “I’m gonna go, then. I’ll text you when I’m on my way, and call you when I get there.”

Jongin was silent for a few seconds, somewhat overwhelmed by Chanyeol’s willingness to drop everything and run over to help him. Granted Minseok had said they weren’t busy that day, but still. He felt his feelings for Chanyeol swell up in his chest, threatening to choke him with their power. Chanyeol would be so perfect for him, if only he… 

“Thanks, ‘Yeol. I owe you one.”

“Nah,” Chanyeol brushed him off, a smile clear in his voice. “But I won’t say no to you buying takeout for dinner.”

“It’s a deal,” Jongin laughed, reiterating Chanyeol’s goodbye before hanging up the phone.

He continued to sit there for a minute or two, phone clutched in his hand, head full with thoughts of Chanyeol. Then he slid off the back of the truck, tucked his phone away, and grabbed a box.

🌹

Almost a week later, two days before Chanyeol was set to meet with his client about the nature scene involving the Butterfly Weed, Jongin returned to their apartment from work around ten in the morning. Chanyeol was sitting on the floor by the window, clothed only in a pair of low slung gray sweatpants and mismatched socks, sketchbook in his lap, various shading pencils scattered around him.

He looked up when he heard the door open, brows furrowed in confusion. “Jongin? What’re you doing home?”

“Get dressed,” he said in lieu of a greeting. “We’re going on a road trip.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol said slowly, dragging out the vowel. “That answered none of my questions. I have work later this afternoon.”

“Don’t worry about that, I called Minseok on my way back home and he’s gonna call in someone else to fill your shift. It’ll be fine since you don’t have any appointments today. Now let's go, we’re wasting time and it’s not exactly nearby.” Even Jongin could hear the excitement in his voice. It had taken him a while to find a place they could go do this at, after all. And Chanyeol was going to love it.

“You’re doing that thing again where you don’t explain things and get annoyed that people don’t know what you mean,” Chanyeol supplied as he rose from the floor, sketchbook in hand. 

“And you’re doing that thing again where you ruin my fun. I’m trying to surprise you,” Jongin shot back with an eye roll. “What, you don’t trust me?”

Chanyeol put his hands up, one of which still holding his sketchbook, open to a page where a half finished sketch of Butterfly Weed could be seen. “Alright, alright. Will you at least tell me how long this is going to take? I’m on a deadline here.” He wiggled his sketchbook.

“All day, probably. Bring your pencils and stuff.” When Jongin didn’t say anything else Chanyeol sighed, surrendering himself to whatever surprise his roommate had planned. The fact that Jongin had come home early from work and arranged something with Minseok meant that it wasn’t a frivolous outing, so he was willing to go along with it without more details. 

Fifteen minutes later, once Chanyeol had gotten dressed and gathered his art supplies as Jongin had instructed him, they were in Jongin’s truck, headed out of the city. Chanyeol knew better than to continue pressing Jongin for information, so instead they talked about random things and sang along to the radio. It was a long drive once they’d gotten on the highway. Around two hours later, when they finally did take an off-ramp, they drove for a while more, down a gravel, wooded path. Chanyeol had no idea where they were going until they passed a sign.

“A State Park?” Chanyeol asked, looking over at Jongin with raised eyebrows.

Jongin didn’t respond, just grinned to himself and kept his eyes focused on the road. Chanyeol stuck his lower lip out, pouting a little as he watched the trees blurr by. Another five minutes or so of driving went by before Jongin was turning off the road and into a gravel parking lot. After they’d both gotten out of the truck, Jongin opened the back driver side door and pulled out a bag, which he slung over his shoulder, and a cooler. 

“You have all your art supplies, right? If you forget something it’ll be a pain to walk back here,” Jongin said as he closed the door.

“I’ve got it all.” Chanyeol gestured to the stuff Jongin was carrying. “Now that we’re here are you gonna tell me what we’re doing.”

“Nope,” Jongin replied without hesitation, leading the way, phone in hand as he occasionally glanced down at it. “We haven’t gotten to the surprise yet.”

Chanyeol sighed, but followed along behind Jongin without protest. Occasionally he tripped over something on the ground and had to catch himself on one of the trees surrounding them. It didn’t look like they were following a trail, which not only made it harder to navigate but also made Chanyeol a little nervous, evident by his questions of ‘do you know where we’re going?’ and ‘are you sure’. 

Eventually they reached a break in the trees and emerged into what looked to be a meadow. A few more minutes of walking revealed a medium sized pond. Jongin paused for a few seconds, turning his head left and right as he looked for something, then started walking again. The next time they stopped, they were standing a few paces away from a patch of reddish-orange flowers.

Chanyeol stood there, dumbfounded for a minute or two, unable to believe what he was seeing. Finally he stuttered out, “Jongin, you— this is — how did you find this?”

“It definitely wasn’t easy,” Jongin replied, laughing at the stunned look on Chanyeol’s face. “I called a lot of people, and finally someone helped me get in contact with a park ranger who works here and could give me directions to find this place. It’s not off a trail but his directions were pretty easy to follow. We’ll have to head back a good while before it starts getting dark, though. I don’t trust myself to get back without light.”

“I don’t know what to say. This is amazing, I can’t believe you did this for me.” Chanyeol turned to him, eyes wide.

Jongin shrugged, smiling slightly. “A thank you for coming to my rescue last week.”

Chanyeol was quick to shake his head. “That was no big deal, Jongin. And you bought takeout that night just like you said you would. Even if you hadn’t done that we would’ve been good. I seriously don’t know how to thank you for doing this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jongin said as he turned away from Chanyeol, purposely hiding his face as he opened the bag he was carrying and pulled out a blanket to spread out on the ground. “I get something out of this, too. I’ve always wanted to move out of the city, y’know. Any chance to spend time out in nature is a chance I’m taking.”

After a few seconds of silence had passed between them, Jongin looked up from his seat on the blanket. Chanyeol was looking at him, lips parted as if he’d been about to say something and then hesitated. When he realized Jongin was looking back at him he shook his head and settled onto the blanket, folding his long legs underneath himself.

“No matter what you say, this is the coolest thing anyone’s done for me in a long time. Shit, you even brought actual food,” Chanyeol groaned when Jongin started pulling out what was clearly handmade sandwiches. “When did you even get all this together?”

Jongin willed himself to not get visibly embarrassed, feeling like Chanyeol was making too big a deal out of it. Making the sandwiches and pasta salad by hand was cheaper than buying premade stuff, and it was all simple foods that didn’t take much skill. “I didn’t make a three course meal, chill. But if we’re gonna be here for hours I figured food would be important. Drinks are in the cooler.”

“Oh man,” Chanyeol said, grin wide as he looked at Jongin. “Good thing your birthday’s coming up. I gotta one up you and do something even better than this.”

“Yeah, okay,” Jongin said, clearly brushing off Chanyeol’s words. He didn’t seem to mind, though, grin still wide as ever. He handed Chanyeol the sandwich he’d made for him, devoid of what Jongin knows he doesn’t like. 

Chanyeol gave his thanks as he accepted the food, reaching into the cooler to grab them drinks. There were four iced teas; two raspberry, two lemon. Chanyeol was grinning as he reached into the cooler to pull out one of each, lemon for himself, raspberry for Jongin. 

They spent the next half hour eating, occasionally breaking the comfortable silence to have short conversations about whatever had popped into their heads. Jongin felt completely relaxed, content to lay on his stomach and read the book he’d brought once Chanyeol had gotten to work. Once in a while he’d glance up from his book and admire Chanyeol’s side profile as he worked. He was so focused, looking up at the scene before him, then back down at what he was drawing. Jongin didn’t fight the fond smile that spread his lips, knowing his roommate was too absorbed in his task to see it. 

About an hour in, sleepiness from eating lunch and then laying around, only half paying attention to his book as he split his attention between gazing at Chanyeol and enjoying the sounds of nature, had him drifting off, head pillowed on his folded arms. His thoughts as he drifted were of Chanyeol.

🌹

Jongin was laying on his bed after his shower, arm slung over his face, limbs feeling entirely too heavy after his long day at work. What he would’ve given to have been able to take a bath. He doesn’t regret deciding to move in with Chanyeol — far from it in fact. All things considered, finding Chanyeol’s posting for a roommate online was an incredible stroke of luck. But he’d be a liar if he said he didn’t miss some of the luxuries of his former apartment. 

Thinking about that place was a rabbit hole to thinking about his ex, so he tried not to do it very often. But when he was bone tired and alone with his thoughts, he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering. He figured it was natural for him to think about it from time to time, though. After all, his whole life had unexpectedly changed in the blink of an eye. And since he didn’t spend time thinking about what could have been, he felt pretty confident that he’d come to terms with the situation and moved on.

Jongin heard his phone ping, lost somewhere in the tangle of sheets and blankets that his unmade bed had become. He figured it was Chanyeol texting him to let him know he was leaving work. They’d agreed earlier that he’d bring home wings for them to eat while they binged as many episodes of the tv show they’d been waiting to marathon together next time they both had a day off together. Despite Jongin’s long day of work and the tiredness that had overcome him, he was looking forward to spending the night in front of the tv with his roommate beside him.

When he’d finally found his phone he saw two text messages waiting for him. The first was from Chanyeol confirming Jongin’s earlier assumptions, sent a few minutes before he’d gotten out of the shower. The second was from his mom, requesting he give her a call.

He figured Chanyeol wouldn’t be home for at least another forty five minutes, plenty of time for him to give his mom a call. But he was already tired, and he didn’t really feel in the mood for talking with his mom when he knew she was going to badger him about the same things as always. 

His guilt over not having called her in a few weeks ultimately had him tapping the call button and bringing his phone to his ear. “Hey, mom. What’s up?”

“Long time to talk, huh?” She replied lightheartedly. Jongin let out a chuckle and hoped that would be the tone for the entire conversation. “What’re you up to tonight? I didn’t catch you at a bad time did I?”

“It’s okay, I would’ve let you know it wasn’t a good time. I just got out of the shower and I’m waiting for dinner. I’ve got plans to get as much relaxing in as possible before I’m back to work. What about you?”

“I just finished having dinner myself. I’m thinking of starting a novel I bought the other day. A friend recommended it to me so I’m excited to talk with her about it. Are you taking some time off work?”

Jongin sat up in bed, hanging his legs over the edge and he tried to get more comfortable. “I just have tomorrow off. It’s been a long day — more like a long few weeks, honestly. Just a bunch of little things, you know? So I’m more than ready for a short break.”

His mom hummed, allowing a beat of silence to pass between them. “Well, you know if you’re in need of a break, you’re supposed to be coming for a visit. Why not schedule that in soon?”

Jongin tried his best to keep from sighing, unsurprised that the conversation had turned there once again. “Mom, we talked about this. I promise I’ll come see you as soon as I can but it’s hard for me to make time for that right now.”

“It’s really so hard to take a couple days off work? It’s not like we live on the other side of the planet, Jongin. And your cousin and her husband are coming to visit from Korea at the end of the month with their baby. That would be the perfect time for you to come; you haven’t seen her since you were teenagers!”

“That’s too short notice from now —” He started to explain, only to be interrupted.

“That’s _weeks_ from now, Jongin. I didn’t see you for the holidays, and I understand your birthday is too close for you to take off to come visit but couldn’t it at least be a late birthday vacation for you?”

“I’m sorry that I don’t have a lot of free time, mom. But my business is busiest around the holidays. I know a two hour drive isn’t a long trip, but that doesn’t mean I can fit it in whenever I want. I’m running the shop and working as a floral designer; even if I leave the shop to my coworker for a few days, it has to be timed with when I’m not helping someone plan their wedding, or whatever other big event. I’m turning twentynine, the days of me using my birthday as an excuse to shirk my responsibilities are passed.”

“Is visiting your mother not a responsibility?” She shot back sharply.

This time he didn’t even bother hiding his sigh. “You know that’s not what I meant. Let’s not turn this into an argument, please. I love you, and I miss you and I want to see you, too. I swear that as soon as an opportunity comes up, I’ll take a few days off to come visit. But I have to do it when my schedule allows, okay?”

“If you can’t come here anytime soon then at least I could come visit,” she offered, seeming to have cooled off.

“I’m busy with work, you’d just be sitting around waiting to get a few hours with me while I’m tired and just want to relax. Plus I have nowhere for you to stay. You’d have to stay in a hotel — it’s just easier for me to come to you.”

“I saw you a lot more when you were with —” She started to say but Jongin was quick to shut her down.

“Yeah well things change. I don’t have a spare room for you to stay in.”

She sighed. “I’m just worried about you. It seems like all you’ve been doing lately is working, and before… before your breakup it didn’t seem like that was the case. I just don’t want you to throw yourself into your work because you got hurt and end up missing out on chances to live life.”

Jongin got off the bed, feeling like he couldn’t sit still with the turn the conversation had taken. He started pacing the length of his room, careful not to trip on anything he’d left laying around the small space. 

“I appreciate your concern but that’s not what’s happening. Hiring a second person to help me take care of the shop has given me more opportunities to work as a floral designer and not just a florist, which is something I’ve always wanted to do more often but didn’t have the time to do until now. That’s why I seem so much busier.”

“Okay, I believe you,” and she seemed to genuinely mean that, though it didn’t ease the tight feeling that had taken root in Jongin’s chest. “But what about _emotionally_? Have you at least made time in that busy schedule of yours to meet people?”

“I see Sehun and Junmyeon a couple times a month, and we keep in contact,” he replied knowing full well that’s not what she meant. He didn’t know why he was playing dumb, he knew his mother wouldn’t give up that easily.

Sure enough, she sounded annoyed but unrelenting. “I’m glad you’re still going strong with your old friends but I meant _new_ people.”

“I’m really close with my roommate. And I’ve become friends with some of his friends, too.” Jongin really hoped she’d take his hints and let it go. He didn’t want to talk about the feelings he’s developed for someone he can’t be with.

“Okay, fine. You don’t want to talk to your mother about your love life, and I guess I can’t blame you. But if you ever want to talk, you know I’m all ears. Like I said, I just worry that you’re letting what happened keep you from finding happiness. You’ve known what you wanted out of a relationship, out of life I suppose, since before you moved out to the city on your own to achieve it. And I’m proud of you, you know. But, like you said, you’re about to turn twentynine and things haven’t gone the way you’d hoped — I can’t help but worry you’ll get discouraged.”

Jongin swallowed, annoyed at himself for feeling his eyes sting a bit just from hearing his mom voice his fears aloud. He’d moved out to the city to train as a florist, and he’d done that. He’d found a mentor and learned all that he could and then he’d gone out on his own again to find a place to make a name for himself. And he’d found one, and it was wonderful to run the shop and to have met someone who’s become another grandmother to himself. He’s even been making waves as a floral designer as of late, a previous hobby he thought wouldn’t go far. 

Overall, he guessed he couldn’t complain. He’d met Sehun soon after moving because they lived in the same apartment complex, and they’d become fast friends. He’d then been introduced to Sehun’s boyfriend Junmyeon and found another friend for life. But he’d also been hoping to find the one. He didn’t think there was only one right person for him out there, he didn’t have his standards set so high. He just wanted someone to genuinely connect with. Someone who could be like a best friend to him while also being his lover. Someone who wanted to get married, to have kids with him, would indulge him and move a little ways out of the city so he could have a house with his own garden. 

He figured he’d have plenty of time to establish himself in the city and meet someone considering he’d moved there soon after graduating high school. Having a plan to get married by thirty wasn’t even some unattainable goal — plenty of people were married by then. A lot of them even had kids by that age. So he’d been optimistic, and not in any particular rush to find the right person to do all those things with. He’d dated a few guys before he’d met his ex, and he never assumed those guys would be the person he married, he’d just approached their relationship authentically and saw where it went. 

His most recent ex had been different, though. Four years ago they’d met through Jongin’s work and the attraction had been electrifying. Everything seemed so natural between them, and Jongin was easily smitten. They’d started dating about a month and a half after meeting, and their relationship was good. Jongin was happy, and it seemed his ex was too. They wanted the same things out of life, and it was actually his ex who had started that particular conversation, admitting that because he was already in his early thirties, he was only looking for a serious relationship. He’d wanted to start a family, and they’d been in love. They lived together for two years before suddenly his ex had admitted to being in contact with his old college girlfriend he’d never gotten over. 

He left Jongin just like that. Left him to pack his belongings through his tears and try to collect his suddenly broken life from where he now slept on Sehun and Junmyeon’s couch. Left him to try to make sense of everything, when in reality there was no sense to be made. And now Jongin was twentynine, and the person he’d been sure he’d marry was with someone else and he was standing in a small apartment he shared with a guy he could never confess his love for, on the phone with his mom, praying his voice didn’t sound choked up as he responded. 

“I still know what I want out of life, but I’m not as naive as I used to be. Things don’t always work out. I’ll find my person eventually, and then we’ll do all the things I wanted, and all the things he’s wanted. I just might have to get started on that a little later than I’d expected.”

He wasn’t sure if it was because he sounded sad despite his best efforts to keep his emotions out of his voice, or if she just wanted to reassure him that he was doing well, but his mom apologized. “I’m sorry I gave you a hard time about visiting. And that I brought up what happened with your ex-boyfriend. I love you, Nini. I’m _so_ proud of all the things you’ve done, and I can’t wait to see what other wonderful things you’ll accomplish.”

Jongin laughed, wiping at his eyes despite the fact that tears hadn’t fallen. “Thanks mom. I love you too. I’m gonna go now, okay? My roommate will be back soon with dinner.”

“Okay, enjoy your takeout even though it’s bad for you.” Her chastising tone made him laugh again. “And have a nice, lazy day tomorrow.”

“That’s the plan. I hope you enjoy your book. I’ll let you know as soon as I find some time for a visit.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” she brushed him off as if she hadn’t called specifically to berate him about his lack of visits. “Just take care of yourself. I want you to be happy above all else.”

They said their goodbyes after that, Jongin more than glad to put his phone on the coffee table and curl up on the couch with a blanket. He stayed there, burritoed in the large afghan he’s pretty sure Chanyeol’s mom knitted him as an apartment-warming gift, lost in his swirling thoughts about where he’d wanted his life to go and where it had actually gone. At some point the tears he’d been keeping at bay started to fall but he ignored them, resting his head on the arm of the couch as he waited for Chanyeol to come home.

Chanyeol came home not long after Jongin had settled on the couch, and by that point his tears had stopped and that numb yet weirdly peaceful feeling that happens after crying had settled over Jongin. Chanyeol had called a cheerful, ‘food’s here!’ as he’d stepped through the front door so he sat up to greet him, wincing at how rough his own voice sounded. If that wasn’t indication enough, he was sure his face was swollen and his eyes red, nose uncomfortably stuffy as he sniffed every now and then.

“What happened?” Chanyeol asked, face serious as he moved to sit next to Jongin’s still burritoed form, keys and takeout bags easily deposited on the coffee table. 

“No big deal,” he offered with a small shrug. Chanyeol didn’t seem convinced and Jongin knew that he didn’t want to brush it off and sit there next to him all night, pretending everything was fine when they both knew it wasn’t. And the fact that Chanyeol seemed to feel the same way made him want to talk even more. “Just… talked to my mom and some unpleasant stuff came rushing back.”

“Wanna talk about it? I brought the wings and your favorite soda so we’ve got the comfort food covered; perfect time to vent.” And that made Jongin a little worried he’d cry again because Chanyeol was so good at making him feel better. Even back when he’d first moved in and they didn’t know each other, he’d been the best at making him laugh and bringing him out of his shell. 

So Jongin agreed to his suggestion and they sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, legs crossed beneath them and knees touching because of how little space there was, wings spread out on the table. He’d already told Chanyeol what had happened with his ex so explaining why’d he’d gotten upset didn’t take very long. Chanyeol nodded and asked questions, his interactions making it clear that he was genuinely listening and not just humoring Jongin.

After he’d gotten it all out he felt even better than he did after his therapeutic cry, laughing a little at himself. Chanyeol had also given him a few minutes of silence so he could collect himself and Jongin was grateful that he understood. It made him feel like he’d regained the balance he’d created for himself since moving in with Chanyeol. 

“So, speaking of your birthday that’s next week,” Chanyeol said once a few minutes of silent eating had passed between them. “What do you wanna do? I’ll take care of everything, my thanks for when you took me to the park for the Butterfly Weed nature scene.”

“I thought you were gonna ‘one up me’? I gave you a super cool surprise and you’re just planning to do whatever I tell you I want to do for my birthday? Lame,” Jongin teased, pretending to be disappointed as he shook his head and reached for his soda.

“You said I didn’t even have to do anything to thank you.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes and took a bite of chicken. 

“I did but then you said you were gonna do something even better for my birthday. If you say you will then I think you should.” He shrugged, glancing at Chanyeol from the corner of his eye. His roommate was grinning, not fooled by Jongin’s playful teasing. 

“Okay well since I’m nicer than you, I’ll let you know that I already have something super awesome for your birthday. But I also figured Junmyeon wouldn’t let you get away without having at least some kind of birthday gathering so I thought I’d help you out with that, all in the spirit of thanks.”

Jongin tossed his head back as he laughed, absolutely thrilled with how well Chanyeol’s gotten to know his friends. Junmyeon had already texted him a couple days ago to ensure he wasn’t going to try letting his birthday pass by without some sort of celebration.

“I’ll gladly take you up on that, then.” He gave Chanyeol a soft smile, warmth spreading through him when he got one in return.

“Ready to binge?” Chanyeol asked once they’d eaten most of the takeout he’d brought. They usually kept the leftover sitting on the coffee table so they could snack throughout the watch session.

“God, yes,” Jongin replied as he happily made himself comfortable on the couch. “We hardly ever end up having the same days off.”

Chanyeol laughed, following Jongin’s lead and getting comfortable as he turned on the tv. “You decide your days off so it’s your fault we hardly ever get to do this.”

“Wow mom, you’re so much taller than I remember you being. Months apart really can change a person, huh?”

Chanyeol burst out laughing and the sight made it pretty hard for Jongin to maintain his annoyed facade. “ _That’s_ what you’re going with? _Taller_?”

Jongin grabbed a pillow from the couch and hurled at Chanyeol's grinning face, no longer attempting to hide his own. “Play the damn show or I’m going to bed.”

Chanyeol didn’t bother to deflect the pillow, just wrapped his arms around it once it had fallen into his lap, smile wide and hair newly disheveled. “Sure thing, _boss_.”

Jongin’s muttered ‘I hate you’ was so painfully fond sounding but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

🌹

The days leading up to Jongin’s birthday were relatively stress free considering how hectic his work had been for the past few weeks. A large part of it was thanks to Chanyeol, who did as he said he would and handled all the planning for his birthday gathering. 

The biggest hassle had been figuring out the best day to have it, the goal being to have everyone be able to make it. Jongin had come home from work late one day to find Chanyeol sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, notebook with a bunch of dates and times scribbled in it. 

“You look like you’re about to have a breakdown,” Jongin commented as he went to sit on the couch, peering over Chanyeol’s shoulder to look at what was written in the notebook.

“If we get new friends I’ll probably be fine. They all just _had_ to have crazy schedules the week of your birthday. Trying to find a day that works for everyone is fucking _hard_ ,” he complained, tossing his pen onto the coffee table. 

“If we dump them we can spend the night being lazy instead. It’ll be way better with just the two of us anyway,” Jongin joked, nudged Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“After I did all this work? No way.” Chanyeol was biting back a grin as he glanced over his shoulder at Jongin. 

“So you _did_ find a day that would work?”

“I’m still waiting to hear back from Baekhyun. He’s going on a business trip for a few days and couldn’t remember what day he comes back so he said he’d check and let me know. Looks like it won’t be on your actual birthday, though.”

“That’s fine,” Jongin said with a shrug. He pulled his legs up off the floor and stretched out on the couch. “It’s not like I was expecting anything crazy. We’re just gonna hang out for a few hours.”

Chanyeol nodded, writing something in his notebook. “Still though, we should get dessert or something after your done work.”

“Sounds good,” Jongin replied through a yawn, causing Chanyeol to laugh.

“Go to bed,” Chanyeol playfully scolded, turning around to poke Jongin’s arm with his pen.

“I’ll just sleep here,” Jongin mumbled, not bothering to open his eyes. 

“This couch sucks, don’t sleep here.” He started poking him more vigorously with the pen. 

This went on for a few seconds, Jongin pretending he was really falling asleep while Chanyeol whined at him to get up while pressing the pen into the skin of his arm over and over again. Finally Chanyeol decided to switch up his tactics and poked him in the cheek, shocking Jongin because his eyes had been closed. He flinched away, eyes flying open as he sat up.

“What the hell!” He complained, rubbing at his cheek.

“Don’t glare at me, I did it out of love,” Chanyeol replied, looking extremely satisfied with himself.

Jongin rolled his eyes and got off the couch, sticking his middle finger up in response to Chanyeol’s smug call of goodnight as he headed into his bedroom.

When Thursday evening rolled around Jongin was home from work earlier than he’d expected, Yixing having insisted that since it was his birthday he should go home early and leave the closing shift to him. Yixing was surprisingly scary when he wanted to be, so Jongin hadn’t bothered arguing. 

“‘Yeol?” He called as he took off his shoes by the door. “You home?”

There was a thud followed by the sound of a door opening after Jongin had called out, seconds later a sweatpant clad Chanyeol appearing in front of him.

“What’re you doing home? It’s only four.” He sounded nervous, which had Jongin narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

“Yixing’s birthday gift to me was getting to go home early. Why’re you acting so weird?” He asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

“You just surprised me, is all. I’m not dressed and —”

“Yeah, so you’re really not seeming any less weird right now.” Jongin raised his eyebrows, feeling even more surprised when he noticed the flush rising to his roommate’s cheeks. “Did I… interrupt something?” His eyes moved back and forth between Chanyeol and his bedroom to indicate what he meant, annoyed at himself for feeling relief when he was quick to dismiss the idea.

“What? No, that’s not it I just —” Chanyeol groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “I wanted more time to prepare for this but I guess it doesn’t really matter. Wait here, I’ve got something for you.”

Jongin was still completely confused but he nodded, moving so he could lean against the back of the couch while he waited. Chanyeol didn’t take long to return, a large rectangular object in his hands, covered in brown paper so he couldn’t tell what it was. Judging by the way Chanyeol carried it, whatever it was was on the heavy side.

“What is it?” Jongin asked as Chanyeol set it down in front of him, still holding the top so it wouldn’t fall over.

“My birthday present for you. I hope it lives up to my promise,” he replied without any of his usual gusto. Seeing Chanyeol acting nervous made Jongin feel nervous too, swallowing as he looked down at the large, wrapped object. 

Hesitantly he reached out, Chanyeol withdrawing his hands and taking a step back once Jongin had taken on the weight of the object. His heart was beating really fast, probably due to how on edge Chanyeol seemed to be. Hearing his blood rushing through his veins made Jongin feel a little sick but he tried to subtly take a deep breath to calm himself down before he gently started tearing away the brown paper. 

What was revealed to him after the last of the paper had crumpled to the floor had his breath catching in his throat. It was a painting of a Honeysuckle vine, done in watercolor with Chanyeol’s name signed at the bottom and it was _beautiful_.

He stood there, staring with his lips parted, unable to find words for a few long seconds. He knew Chanyeol was nervously fidgeting, could see it from the corner of his eye, but all he could focus on was the painting. Not only had Chanyeol spent countless hours painting something for him in a style that he didn’t usually do, but he’d even had it framed for him to hang up. It was probably the most thoughtful gift he’d ever gotten.

“You… made me a watercolor?” Jongin finally said, eyes still taking in all the details of the painting. “It’s amazing, Chanyeol. I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“Well, I wanted to give you something you’d definitely love, and what do you love more than flowers?” Chanyeol laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “But I couldn’t just give you regular flowers, y’know, that’s not very special. I wanted to give you flowers that would never die.”

Jongin laughed, feeling breathless as he finally looked back up at Chanyeol. “But why did you do it in watercolor? You’ve hardly ever done this style, right?”

The red of his cheeks seemed to deepen. “Um. The first day I brought you to the shop you saw Minseok’s art on the walls and said you loved watercolors so I thought… y’know.” He shrugged. “I had him help me out with my practice runs until I got it right. Do you, um.” He hesitated, looking nervous as he bit his lip. “Do you know what Honeysuckle means in… in the language of flowers?”

“It has a couple different meanings,” Jongin replied, brows furrowed. “It’s used most commonly as a symbol of happiness, but it also carries the meanings of affection and —” He stopped before he could finish the sentence, noticing the shift in Chanyeol’s facial expression as he’d been about to say the final meaning of the flower. He slowly glanced back down at the painting, then shifted his gaze back to Chanyeol.

“The final meaning?” Chanyeol prodded gently, eyes fixed on Jongin’s.

“Devotion of a lover.” Jongin stared wide eyed, unwilling to believe what was right in front of him. It had to be something else, it couldn’t be what he thought because that would be what he’d longed for over the past few months and thought he could never have. “Ch-Chanyeol what —”

“I’m sorry,” Chaneyol said softly when it seemed like Jongin had no intention of finishing his sentence. “I should’ve just told you like a normal person but I kept chickening out. And then when you took me to the park to see the Butterfly Weed it hit me how much I really wanted to tell you how I feel, even if you couldn’t return my feelings. And I wanted to make it special, so you’d be able to, i dunno, feel my feelings for you, I guess? If it’s too much, I’m really sorry. I hope I didn’t ruin your birthday for all eternity or something. And I really wish you’d say something because you’re just staring at me and it’s making me feel sick,” he laughed nervously, obviously trying to play off his statement as a joke.

Jongin was still processing what was going on, mouth moving on autopilot. “Baekhyun told me a while ago that you don’t want kids and you weren’t sure you wanted to get married. I spent all these months falling more and more in love with you, knowing I could never tell you because we don’t want the same things out of life. I don’t want to get my heart broken by you when you don’t change your mind about it, and I don’t want to break your heart when I leave because I want a family.”

“Jongin, why didn’t you ask me about it yourself?” Chanyeol stepped closer but was careful not to invade his personal space, leaving plenty of room for him to leave if he wanted to.

“I — I don’t know. I guess I was scared to hear you say what Baekhyun had already told me. Because hearing it from him was one thing, but hearing it from you… why hurt myself like that? He’s been your best friend since high school, he’d know that sort of thing.” Jongin kept his eyes focused on a point over Chanyeol’s shoulder, mind still racing with thoughts he couldn’t make sense of.

“Could you ask me now, then? Ask me what I want out of life,” Chanyeol requested, trying to catch Jongin’s eye. 

Jongin shook his head a little, hands absentmindedly sliding across the top of the paiting’s frame over and over again. 

“Jongin, please look at me.” And Chanyeol’s plea was so sincere that Jongin met his eyes without hesitation. “Ask me.”

“What do you want out of life, Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol’s response came without hesitation, eyes never leaving Jongin’s. “I want a lot of things. Things you already know about, like getting more tattoos, giving others more tattoos, singing a song at my older sister’s wedding like we’d joked about as kids, back when I’d first started learning the piano. I want to move somewhere that allows pets because I love dogs. I want to always be friends with Baekhyun and Minseok. And I’d love to be around to be a really cool uncle to Sehun and Junmyeon’s future kid.” Chanyeol laughed, the thought of the two of them parenting bringing a smile to his face.

“There’s a lot of things I’m scared of, Jongin. Mostly I’m scared of ending up like my parents. I don’t want to marry someone, be so in love with them that I can’t picture the rest of my life without them, only to have it end up not working out. Relationships can be so hard, adding kids to that will only make it harder and that’s _scary_. So I promised my younger self that I’d be careful, not rush into anything, make sure me and my partner in life are on the same page.”

Chanyeol took a deep breath. “What Baekhyun told you is partially true. I don’t know whether or not I want to get married. I don’t think it’s a decision to be taken lightly, and I think it takes time to know whether that’s the right decision for a couple. And while I don’t think marriage is the ultimate goal of relationships, I’m not against it either. Whether I get married or not, though, I would like to find someone to spend the rest of my life with. Maybe it’s childish of me to see it that way, since it’ll hurt if the person I love leaves, regardless of whether we’re married or not. I don’t know, I’m not perfect, you know?”

Jongin swallowed, listening to Chanyeol’s answer without interrupting, not wanting to pressure him while he was trying to find ways to express what he was feeling. So far the things he’d heard had made his hopes soar, though he could admit he was still concerned that it was all going to turn out to be too good to be true. Chanyeol hadn’t gotten to the part about kids yet and that was important. Jongin wanted to have the experiences that come with being a father, and he knew that if he were to give that up to be with someone, he’d end up unhappy eventually.

“I guess I know why Baekhyun told you I don’t want to have kids. I’ve shared my fears with him about ending up divorced like my parents, and he knows how hard that was on my sister and I. You hear all these statistics too, like how children of divorce are more likely to get divorced themselves. It’s scary to think about it that way, but I know that doesn’t actually say anything about me. But anyway, I never really talk about kids, or wanting kids, so he probably just assumed I don’t want any because of that.”

“What… does that mean?” Jongin asked carefully, wanting to ensure he didn’t assume things like he’d made the mistake of doing before.

Chanyeol gave him a little smile. “Kids are like marriage; a big decision that needs to be talked about and planned for, not rushed into. I know… I know that you’ve had this plan for yourself. You wanted to get married by thirty and get a house and have a bunch of kids and if that’s really what you want then I think we should just stay friends. Because I love you, Jongin, and I’d never want to hold you back or be the reason you’re unhappy in life. But,” he paused, biting his lip as he looked into Jongin’s eyes. “But if you think you could compromise with me on those things a little, I really wanna be your boyfriend.”

Jongin’s heart was practically in his throat when he responded. “When you say compromise…” 

“I think we should date longer than a year before we talk about potentially getting married, so married by thirty would be out of the question. And I’d like to be a father, but only to one kid, two at most. We should probably talk about the house thing more, too. But a nice yard for that dog I’ve always wanted would be —”

Jongin cut him off by reaching out, grabbing his shirt, and pulling him close enough so he could press his lips to Chanyeol’s. It was a sweet, slow kiss, a previously silent love finally able to be expressed between them. Jongin idly thought it was the most intimate kiss he’d ever shared with someone.

“Wow,” Chanyeol had breathed once they’d pulled back. They remained standing within each other’s personal space but had separated enough to see each other’s faces clearly. 

“I love you,” Jongin said, the feeling of admitting it out loud better than he could’ve imagined.

“I love you too,” he responded, resting his hands over Jongin’s on the top of the painting. “Where do we go from here? What I said earlier, you should think about it for a while. Even if we compromise on those things, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll work out. I don’t want to make you unhappy…”

Jongin shifted the painting's weight so it would lean against his legs, freeing his hands so he could intertwine their fingers. “What you said earlier was right, though. Those are important decisions that I don’t think should be made lightly either. I’ve always thought marriage is the next step in a relationship, but what you said makes sense too. I want to find a person willing to make that promise with. An agreement that we’ll always put in the work to be together for the rest of our lives. But that’s a promise that can be made without marriage, right? The thought of being with someone, having a best friend and lover all rolled into one, for the rest of my life is what I really wanted and marriage doesn’t determine that. People get divorced, like you said, it’s not permanent.”

“And the kids?” Chanyeol asked as he squeezed Jongin’s hands.

“I’d really like to have a boy and a girl at the very least. And a dog would be pretty great too. But we can talk about that. Like you said, it’s not something we should rush into. I wasn’t planning on meeting someone and marrying them before thirty when I was twentynine,” Jongin laughed. “I’ve already accepted that I’ll have to delay my plans. Life doesn’t always work out the way you think it will, but my life right now isn’t bad. I’m happy, but I have my bad days like everyone else. If you’re willing to compromise like you’re standing here saying you will, that’s enough for me. If we both want us to work, I think we can do it as long as we work together.”

“That’s oddly idealistic of you,” Chanyeol said, half joking half serious. 

“My ex wanted everything I did down to a t and look how that turned out. I don’t think wanting the exact same thing is as important as the couple’s willingness to work it out together. I mean, I don’t think we could be standing here like this if Baekhyun had been right and you wanted zero kids, probably wouldn’t get married, and was looking for someone else who felt the same. But it seems like we can meet halfway on things, and that sounds pretty good to me.” Jongin shrugged.

“So what you're saying is…?” Chanyeol’s voice sounded hopeful as he left the question open ended.

“Let’s try dating. We won’t know anything until we try, and as long as we’re willing to communicate, I don’t see any problems.”

“It’s always the problems you don’t see coming,” Chanyeol mumbled.

“And _that’s_ oddly pessimistic of _you_ ,” Jongin shot back, squeezing his hands in a show of reassurance. “You said it yourself, Chanyeol. You don’t want to be the reason I’m unhappy, and you were willing to step back and be my friend if we wanted completely different things. But you also approached me already having known what I wanted out of life, and you’ve been thinking about all these things seriously. If we wanted completely different things you wouldn’t have done and said everything that you did today.”

“And I should apologize to you,” Jongin continued. “I kind of decided everything on my own based on something someone else told me about you instead of talking to you directly. We could’ve had this conversation a while ago if I’d been more mature about it. I promise not to do that again.”

Chanyeol smiled, letting go of Jongin’s hands so he could wrap his arms around Jongin’s waist and pull him in, the position a bit uncomfortable thanks to the painting still between their legs. “Since we’re on the same page now, I feel like I need to give you birthday kisses.”

Jongin laughed, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s neck as he said, “That’s like the eightieth cheesy thing you’ve said today.”

“Plenty more where that came from too,” Chanyeol mumbled just before their lips touched. This kiss, much like their first, was something intimate, two smiling mouths pressed together. 

When they moved away they didn’t go far, arms still around one another. 

“So? Did I fulfill my promise of one upping your surprise?”

Jongin rolled his eyes mumbling about how annoying Chanyeol was as he pulled him back in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> When I decided to write this prompt I knew I'd have to step out of my comfort zone and write something different than what I usually do. Turned out to be pretty hard even though I had so many ideas. In the end, I think the fact that I had so many ideas is what made it hard haha I hope I was able to portray genuine emotions, and that you guys were able to connect to the characters and enjoy their story. 
> 
> I'd like the thank the mods for working hard on this fest, and for letting me get a last minute extension. And I'd also like to apologize for the fact that this hasn't been thoroughly proofread (I'll get on that as soon as I can). 
> 
> P.S. Can we all agree that the biggest tragedy of this fic is that there's no honeysuckle emoji so I had to use a rose?


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